Brown trout

Brown trout is an iconic species which many people identify with because they enjoy fishing for it, just seeing it in local streams, or simply knowing that it is there. We have surveyed brown trout throughout the length of the Eye Brook. Brown trout present at all survey sites, but numbers are not high and the proportion of first year fish is low. Reasonable numbers of young fish have only been only found at a few sites in the headwaters of the catchment.

Breeding success and consequently recruitment to the adult population is therefore low. This is because of sedimentation of spawning gravels following erosion of arable land and the movement of soil particles to ditches and streams. This is an issue we have been exploring for several years and at a number of scales through our research projects such as SOWAP, MOPs and PARIS, amongst others listed on this website.

Eyebrook Reservoir, at the bottom of the Eye Brook catchment, is an important trout fishery. There is potential for improving the movement of fish between the reservoir and the stream. We are investigating the potential to improve spawning success in the rest of the catchment so as to benefit both the reservoir fishery and other members of the catchment community who have an interest in this species.

Cookie Policy

Our website uses cookies to provide you with a better online experience. If you continue to use our site without changing your browser settings, we'll assume you are happy to receive cookies. Please read our cookie policy for more information.